![US Vice President Mike Pence (L) delivers a speech in the Knesset in Tel Aviv, on 22 January 2018 [AMOS BEN GERSHOM/GPO/Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/2018_1-23-U.S.-Vice-President-Mike-Pence-in-Israel20180122_2_28254107_30046981.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
PLO Secretary Saeb Erekat said yesterday that the address of the US Vice President Mike Pence in the Israeli Knesset is a “gift to extremists,” Anadolu reported.
On Twitter Erekat wrote: “The address shows that the US became part of the problem instead of being part of the solution.”
He also wrote: “The address had a message which is: violate the law and the US will reward you.”
Dr. Saeb Erekat: The messianic discourse of Pence is a gift to extremists & has proven that the US Administration is part of the problem rather than the solution. His message to the rest of the world is clear: violate international law & resolutions and the US will reward you.
— Palestine PLO-NAD (@nadplo) January 22, 2018
Pence, in his address, said that the US would relocate the US embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem “before the end of the next year”.
He also repeated the phrase “Jerusalem is Israel’s capital” several times in his address, during which the Israeli-Arab MKs were forced out of the Knesset.
“The USA is proud to stand with Israel and her people, as allies and cherished friends,” he said.